Anti-Posco body expresses solidarity with Nuagaon villagers

Describing the violent action by villagers perceived as Posco supporters at the proposed steel plant site on February 16, Sunday as ‘pleasantly unusual’ , the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) today said the 180 metre stretch of the boundary wall razed by aggrieved and anguished villagers of Nuagaon was a completely illegal construction.

Nuagaon villagers pulling down boundary wall ( pic-Binay K Ray )

In a release, PPSS spokesperson Prashant Paikray said , “Posco constructed the illegal boundary wall ignoring the case that was filed at National Green tribunal. The villagers also destroyed the public relation camp office of POSCO and the IDCO office at Nuagaon. They have decided not to allow anyone from the Posco, district administration or the police into their village. They have even erected a bamboo gate at the entrance to Nuagaon to prevent entry of anyone from today. We are thankful and grateful to the villagers that they did everything peacefully in the true spirit of the anti-Posco resistance.”

The release further said, “in the name of Corporate Social Responsibility (C.S.R), the Posco has made repeated promises to provide compensation. This was a strategy by Posco to woo the villagers of Nuagaon. Few of them had been trapped and misguided by these empty promises of Posco. Now they have realized that the single agenda of Posco is to acquire their fertile agricultural land and construct the boundary wall. Besides, this has hampered the peace and brotherhood in the area by luring a few youths to work for the Posco.”

Warning the local people against possible efforts by Posco, district administration and the police to divide the people and target fighters in the anti-Posco agitation by charging them under false cases, the release said urged the people to stand united and continue the peaceful resistance against Posco.